Life cycle assessment conclusions

Life-Cycle Interpretation is the phase of life-cycle assessment in which the findings of either the inventory analysis or the impact assessment, or both, are combined in consistence with the defined goal and scope in order to reach conclusions and recommendations. 

For an assessment of the sustainability profile, it is not enough to look at laundry detergent surfactants in isolation the whole life-cycle has to be taken into account.In order to arrive at soundly based conclusions, the total washing process must be analyzed. To enable the findings for different systems to be compared, all results must be related to a functional unit e.g. the cleaning of 1 kg of laundry. A systematic analysis of the total process is then carried out in the context of a so-called life-cycle assessment (LCA), in which all the system s inputs and outputs are systematically recorded and assessed. ... 

Life Cycle Interpretation. The results obtained within the Life Cycle Inventory and/or the Life Cycle Impact Assessment are interpreted in the light of the Goal and Scope Definition (e.g., by means of sensitivity or uncertainty analyses) in order to draw conclusions and make recommendations. ... 

The classic experiments of McKim et al. (1976) on the chronic effects of toxicants in which three generations of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were exposed to methyl mercuric chloride led to a scientifically based appreciation of the fact that the early life stages could be used for assessing chronic toxicity (McKim 1977). Due to the cost of complete life-cycle tests and the time required for their completion, increasing attention has been directed to truncated tests for chronic toxicity, and to the effects of toxicants on sensitive life stages. Nonetheless, there is substantial evidence that clearly exposes the limitations in the conclusions which can be drawn if only early life-cycle stages are examined. 

Market success is an important criterion of any new drivetrain technology. Its benchmark is usually the cost of a conventional powertrain. In view of the different possible layouts, analyses should be based on production costs, not end-user price, and refer to mechanical power output to retain comparability in terms of driving performance. In a second step, life-cycle costs also need to be assessed in order to draft reliable conclusions. Figure 35.24 shows the specific costs of conventional ICE, hybrid, and BEV drivetrains for a vehicle with 90kWmech- Component costs are those stated in the previous sections. 

In this chapter, structural optimization is considered for the assessment of (i) the behaviour factor q with respect to limit state fragiHties and (ii) the minimum torsional response of RC buildings under different design considerations in three hazard levels (frequent, occasional and rare). The designs were assessed with respect to the initial as well as to the total life-cycle cost. From the present study the following conclusions can be drawn ... 

Life cycle interpretation occurs at every stage in an LCA [3]. It serves to evaluate the study in order to derive reeommendations and conclusions. The last component of an LCA is to find the ways to improve or to redesign the production processes, or to reduce the costs and the materials used. Several relevant aspects, such as environmental, financial, convenience, and safety, are usrrally incorporated for irrrprovement assessment or irrterpretation. 

The International Standard Organization (ISO 14040) [26] breaks the LCA framework into four main stages (1) Goal and scope definition of the study. This stage clarifies the purposes of carrying the study while the assumptions and system boundaries are described clearly. (2) Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis. LCI involves data collection and calculation procedures to quantify relevant inputs and outputs of the entire system defined within the system boundaries. (3) Life cycle impact assessment involves qualifying the potential environmental impacts of the inventory analysis results. (4) The interpretation of the results from the previous phases of the study in relation to the objective of the study. This interpretation can be in form of conclusions and recommendations to decision-makers for process changes to deliver improvement in the environmentel performance. 

Element 4, the life cycle interpretation, is where conclusions are drawn from the life cycle inventory and impact assessment, and recommendations are made for system improvement. 

The life cycle interpretation is the final step of the LCA where conclusions are drawn from both the life cycle inventory analysis and the life cycle impact assessment or, in the case of life cycle inventory studies, from the inventory analysis only. As an outcome of the interpretation stage, recommendations can be formulated which, for example, may be directed to producers or policy makers. 

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